The Paper-Girl
by RavenGagalover
Summary: Jasmine is the paper-girl in her town, and lives her teenage years during WW2. She lives on the outskirts of town with her father and her cat. During the war, she has to deal with situations as losing people closing to her, the bombings, betrayal, love that simply cannot be, the struggle to survive, and all the other obstacles the war has hurdled at her. Will she make it out alive?
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, before anything starts, I just wanna say that I don't own the Disney characters so credit goes to their company. Also I really hope that this story does offend anyone with it being about WW2 and all because I know that it is a really touchy subject so I apologize in advance because I'm telling you right now, I went beyond to do my research and if there are any facts that are beyond what really happened, I'm really sorry. I tried my best. Pus, I kinda had to alter some things in order to make the story work. I'm just an average fanfic writer, not a history professor. So without further adieu, I present the first chapter of: "The Paper-Girl."**

* * *

It was a normal Tuesday in the town of Basternack, Poland. I opened my eyes, and closed them immediately after being blinded. The sun's light was seeping through the gap between my curtains to warm up my right cheek. The vintage clock on my dresser displayed the time: 6:30, which meant I was late for my job. I quickly got out of bed and rushed through my morning routine; brushing my teeth and a quick, warm, bath.

After freshening up, I put on my uniform: tan trousers, a white dress shirt, my plaid raw umber-colored blazer, fallow crew socks, and my brown-leathered bluchers. I had a multiple of white shirts, but sometimes I used my blouses or anything else that was white and had a winged collar. Sometimes, I'd wear my high-waist pants instead of my trousers. I tied my hair up with two, teal, hairbands, separating my hair into three sections and made sure my shirt was tucked in. The last thing I did to prepare was put on my golden earrings given to me by Mother. After looking myself over in my vanity mirror, I looked to the hat stand on the right. On it, was the proud symbol for what I do for a living. It was my woolen, dark olive-green, news cap. I adjusted it on my head and smirked at my reflection. On my way out, I grabbed my navy blue mail bag and quickly climbed down the stairs. I noticed that Father wasn't up yet, but decided not to disturb him. The last thing I did was lock the door before shutting it.

The outside air's scent was a mixture of stone walls and hay. I strode through the street and checked my pocket watch. I scoffed once I looked at the face of the clock; there was _no _way I would make it in time…_if_ I kept taking this street. My house was located in the outskirts of town, so it would be a while if you were to walk the whole way. I scanned for the alley way that would save me time, the "short cut" as I called it. Hopefully it wasn't blocked off today…_Thank goodness…_I thought when I saw the main street right across the alley way. I rush over, not paying attention to my surroundings. There was a loud neighing sound on my left. I looked up and saw a horse rearing up. I gasped and stepped back onto the sidewalk. As the horse started carrying its cart off, the driver had yelled angrily back at me.

"Watch where you're going Ms. Arij!" I looked back at him sternly while I waited for the right time to cross. As soon as it was all clear, I refitted my hat and ran to the newsstand.

"There you are." I heard a voice say. Kronk Riese was the young man who ran "Niebieski Gołąb" newsstand in our town.

"I'm…I'm…not _too _late…am I?" I panted between words. I checked my pocket watch: 6:52.

"Maybe by exactly…twenty-seven minutes." Kronk checked his watch. For me, seconds, minutes, _or _hours, being late was a pitiful mistake to commit. "How's your father today?" he asked me as I was catching my breath.

"He's well." I replied.

"That's good to hear. Hey, it's almost September." I knew what Kronk was referring to when he said that. I started thinking about how September was the month that I wouldn't know whether I should dread or not. "So, how old would you be? Hello?" he asked. I snapped out of my phase.

"Huh? Oh…um, sixteen. I'll be sixteen." I replied quickly. I checked the map that defined my route for the day and traced the red line with my index finger.

"That's wonderful. Alright, here you are." Kronk filled my bag with enough rolled up newspapers for my route.

"Thank you." I thanked my friend and headed off into the streets once more. By this time in the morning, the streets were starting to get busier. I strode, satisfied, through the streets, throwing papers at the porches of houses. The weather gradually grew warmer with each block I finished. Some people were awake, and others were not. Meg and George Bartoszek came out of their house, laughing, and started chasing each other playfully through the street towards the town café. Those two were the meaning of, "happy couple." I thought to myself, _"Would I ever find love like that?" _But I wasn't focused on finding a boy right now. Mrs. Forrester was watering her plants when saw me. She waved to me and I waved back, tossing a paper onto her doorstep. The morning went on with me greeting neighbors and throwing papers harder at the doors of the people I didn't get along with. The old woman on the corner of Bereza Street, Ms. Gothel, cursed at me again for being an Arab. I've gotten used to her over time. I was finished with my deliveries by 11:00 and walked back to the newsstand for my wage. I came back to Kronk, simply reading the paper we were distributing.

"Twenty minutes more than your record." He informed me. I would sometimes ask him to time me while I made the deliveries.

"I guess today's not my day." I replied as I chose out two papers for Father and I. Kronk opened shelf on the stand table and handed me my money. I counted eight złoty and fifty-two groszy. "Thank you, Kronk." I beamed at my friend.

"You're welcome, take care! Greet your father for me!" he called out as I turned away to walk. Just before going home, I had to go to the market place and buy fresh liver for the cat. I made my way along our town's everyday citizens. When I entered the crowded street where the marketplace was held, the air's scent changed from sweat to peppers, potatoes, wheat, turnips, and the other food that was sold. I couldn't help but have a look at everything being sold as I made my way to the meat stand. I always loved visiting the market place's warm and welcoming colors.

"Jasmine, dear!" I heard a woman's voice call me from behind. I looked at the tomato stand and saw Carlotta, the fruit lady.

"Dzień dobry, Carlotta!" I waved at her from where I was standing and then made my way to her spot.

"So, any highlights in the news today?" she asked me as she organized her wares.

"I don't know, I didn't read it." I replied, a bit disappointed with myself.

"Ah, it's okay. I'll just have to wait until I get home." She said without looking my way once. Costumers started pushing through me to buy vegetables, but it honestly didn't matter to me. I had to get liver for Rajah, and get home. I ordered for 1½ pounds and wrapped it in butcher paper. I started my walk home with the packaged meat with my hands when I heard another person calling out my name.

"Jasmine!" I recognized that voice anywhere. I turned around to see my best friends Ariel, Cinderella, Aurora, and Belle. I gladly joined them under the lamp-post where they stood, talking.

"Hello." I greeted. They were all dressed in their everyday dresses, while I wore clothing that a boy is supposed to wear. Cinderella had her family dog, Bruno, alongside her, and Belle was reading another one of her books. Ariel leaned against the wall of the café chewing gum, while Aurora braided a strand of her hair. Cinderella and Aurora were sisters, except their parents favored Cinderella more because she had "admirable traits", which didn't matter to any of _us_. We walked into the café to sit down and talk.

"Cinderella, your birthday is soon!" Aurora announced. Ariel offered me a piece of chewing gum, but I declined.

"I'm going to have the best birthday celebration, you'll see. Mother and Father agreed to have it in the dance-hall." Cinderella flipped her hair and gave Bruno a scratch on his head. Her birthday was seventeen days before mine. She always threw extravagant parties when it came to celebrating _her_, but I noticed Aurora's choices would be limited. "When you all attend, I want all of you to wear your best!" Cinderella sounded so excited.

"I shall look forward to it." I said and kicked at the ground.

"So, newsgirl, what's the scoop on today's paper?" Ariel asked. Ariel had actually just turned sixteen earlier this month.

"I haven't read it yet," I shrugged with the liver in my right hand. "Most likely it will be about what's going on in Britain."

"My family's really worried right now about the government. We're thinking of moving to Paris in September." Belle told them.

"Oh goodness!" Aurora said in surprise. We were all shocked by this.

"Surely you won't move before my party?" Cinderella asked and took her by the hands and shook her.

"Oh no, if we _do _move, it will be near the end of the month." Belle explained. Everyone was happy to hear this, but I felt discouraged, realizing that my own birthday was near the end of the month as well.

"I must go ladies, I'll see you all tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Certainly."

"Mhm." They all agreed in unison.

"Alright, goodbye then." I walked away from my friends and back all the way to my home. The keys jingled as I took them out to open the door. Once it opened, I entered quietly. "Father?" I called.

"In here, daughter!" he answered. I was relieved to hear his voice. He was in the kitchen, drinking tea.

"Good morning, Father! I brought today's paper." I cheerfully announced to him as I laid it on the table for him to read.

"Oh goodness, thank you, Jasmine." He adjusted his spectacles to read the paper properly. I sat next to the radio to hear anything about the conflict between Britain and Germany. As I listened for the right station, I heard a "meow" as my cat, Rajah, walked in. I immediately recall that I was still holding the wrapped-up fresh liver in my hands. I quickly made my way to the kitchen counter and cut out a piece for his meal. After taking care of my beloved pet, I sat down next to the radio again.

"Not much has been said since the last report on Germany. Britain and France are still in collaboration with each other…" I sighed and thought about this world and why there had to be so many problems. I look to the paper and read the headline:

* * *

"_**Herr Hitler Replies to the British Ambassador's Note of Yesterday**_

_When Sir Neville Henderson delivered the British note last night at the Chancery in Berlin, Herr Hitler received him in person. The contents of the correspondence are still being kept a close secret and neither side has released any details._

_This afternoon, in the Commons, the Prime Minister took great pains not to let any cats out of the diplomatic bag. However, it is unlikely that either side has changed its basic policy. Germany's claims against Poland remain the same: to incorporate the free city of Danzig and the Polish Corridor within the German Reich; claims that are in contravention of the Treaty which Germany signed with Poland in 1934._

_**... Herr Hitler says that he wants to promote better understanding between Germany, Britain and France...**_

_Herr Hitler says that he wants to promote better understanding between Germany, Britain and France, as long as they don't get in the way of what he considers to be a 'just settlement' in Poland._

_Britain too would like to improve her relations with Germany, but the British Government feels that they must hold fast to the Pact that they signed with Poland last week, which would involve Britain immediately, should Poland be attacked by another country._

_One ray of hope, in this otherwise gloomy scenario, is that at least the two countries are still communicating - the moment they stop the prospect of war will be very close indeed."_

* * *

"_Very close?_ It will happen _indeed! _Hitler won't back down from them, not a _chance!_" I yelled out, frustrated, as I slammed my fist on the dining table.

"Now daughter," Father preached, "don't stress yourself over these things. You're just a young lady! Leave the adults and men to all this…_war _nonsense." I couldn't believe what he was saying.

"_Nonsense?_ This will affect my future! _Our _future! Japan has already started with Manchuria, it's only a matter of time now until we're all slaughtered." I explained to him as if _I _was the parent and _he _was the child. "This will ruin _everything_! There will be problems with resources! We would be killing each other out in the streets like barbarians!"

"Keep, your voice, _down_! You'll sound like a lunatic from outside!" Father had put down his paper and scolded me with a harsh whisper. "Now, we just need to be careful and stay in-line. In these times, it isn't wise to call attention to yourself."

"That is what I'm talking about! You know, if we hadn't been so careful from the start, Mother would still be alive!" I yelled in anger. In my head, I was already regretting that I had said that. My father gave me a look that I instantly knew, I was in trouble. He went back to reading and the only sound in the dining room was the radio, which was now playing piano music. I marched out, up the stairs, and into my room. I threw my mailbag onto my bed and slammed the door. I look out the window and see the young children coming home from school. I thought about my days in school when I was that age.

I lived in Berlin, the reason being propaganda (at least, that's what my parents explained to me), and I was able to attend grades 1-4. We were rich at our time there, but everything gradually dropping after Mother had…passed away. After that dreadful day, Father and I moved to Poland. Life here was different. We lived off the pathetic amount of money that the government sends to us through the bank. One of the things I found odd as a little girl, was that we were ordered to hang a small Flag of Nejd in front of our door. I wasn't able to attend school here, but I did try to educate myself as much as I could by going to the library. I used to wear cute dresses, just like the other little girls back then and now. I turned to look back at my vanity table where I had a photograph of Mother displayed against the mirror. I slowly walked over to the table to pick the framed photo up and look at it. "_I love you, my flower…" _she'd say to me in the softest voice. I wanted to smile upon seeing her face through the glass in the frame, but it wasn't really her. It was just an image. I put the framed photo back on the tabletop and quietly opened my door. I treaded lightly down the staircase and stopped halfway. I put a hand on the wall and leaned back against the wooden railing. On the wall were the family pictures from when my Father and Mother were just married, up until the strong of photos of just Father and I, which the last one was taken just this Summer. There were only seven pictures of the three of us, complete. The last eight felt like we weren't whole anymore. After reminiscing, I noticed that the radio had been turned off. I peeked into the dining room and saw Father, asleep in his chair. I quickly made my way from the staircase to the front door, where I slipped away from the house.

I took my watch out of my pocket and read the time; 2:37 in the afternoon. I decided I would head to the library. I kept my hands in my pockets as I walked through the main street. When I got to the building, the bell jingled as I opened the door. As soon as the door closed, silence reigned throughout the room. I slinked to the very back of all the shelves, and there was Belle, reading a different book than the one she was reading earlier today.

"Belle," I whispered. She looked up from the pages as I sat down next to her against the wall. "So you're moving by the end of this month?" I asked.

"Yes, _if _nothing goes wrong." She answered.

"I see." I looked down. The issue was that Belle was a Jew. I remember as kids, that the five of us, Aurora, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, and I, used to play just fine together despite how our society felt. We weren't aware of our differences, all we knew is that we were friends. As the years passed, we still kept our friendship, but we had to be cautious. If this war is going to happen, then I'd do anything to keep our friendship from being torn apart.

"So what will you wear to Cinderella's party?" she asked. I had to think before answering. "Don't tell me you're wearing your work-clothes." She smirked.

"No, I'm going to wear a dress." I crossed my arms and acted snooty just to be funny. We both laughed.

"Shh." The librarian had caught us talking too loud and threatened that if we disrupted the silence, he'd make us leave. All we could do was read, and so I read along with Belle. I looked at the time and it read: 7:00 exactly.

"Oh, I must be going. Curfew is eight o'clock." Belle got up and returned her book on the shelf. I stood up and dusted myself off. We left out the door together and found ourselves out in the eerie streets. The dark crept from every direction with the only source of light being the few lamp posts around the block.

"Are you sure you're okay walking home by yourself? I can walk you if you like." I offered. It was as safe as stepping onto an open bear trap during these nights.

"Oh no, there's no need to. Goodbye!" she bid farewell.

"I'll see you tomorrow Belle!" I called and waved as I proceeded to walk home. When I stepped into the house, I had come home to the dining table with a plate of bread, cheese, and hummus. I grinned at a little note saying: "_Sorry for yelling at you. My cooking skills aren't as good as yours, hope you forgive me_." Now _I _felt bad. Ate my dinner peacefully and went to bed as usual.

The next morning, I woke up on the usual time, 6:00 at sunrise. I stretched, dressed, made breakfast for Father, and made myself a small sandwich for lunch. I walked all the way from my house to the main street on the lonely dirt-road. The wind brushed through my hair as I walked. I got to the newsstand and saw Kronk, who looked very cheerful.

"Good morning!" I greeted.

"Good morning, squirt!" he greeted back. "Here are the papers today." He told me as he brought out the pile of rolled up newspapers for the day. "Did you tell your father I said 'hi'?" he asked. I suddenly felt guilty because I had forgotten due to the argument I had with him.

"No, I have forgotten." I answered in a quaky voice.

"That's alright." Kronk just laughed it off, turned, and got back to his work. This was the sign that I had to get on with mine. I checked the map once more for the route I was taking today and headed forward.

* * *

**I'm back. (Yay!) Sorry I'v been gone for so long, high school is tough for me. So how'd you like it? If you did, great, if you didn't, that's okay too. If there's anything you guys wanna tell me about this story, or anything I should keep in mind of for the future plot, go ahead and tell me in the reviews. I don't bite. :) So hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter of whatever I update because I'm hopping between 2 stories right now XD.**

**Read on, and your imagination will stay strong!**


	2. Chapter 2

I had gotten up to a very raw morning for a change. I made breakfast, fed Rajah, and put a bun between my teeth right before I walked out the door. I ate my little piece of bread as I walked through the still, void, street. I had finally came up to the newsstand in the middle of town and carried on with my job. People were starting to get active throughout the morning. Mrs. Forrester was watering plants again; Old "Hag" Gothel was cursing at me as I walked by, and the two young lovers, Meg and George Bartoszek, were pursuing each other on the sidewalks. I was half done with my deliveries when I bumped into a certain someone. It was Jim Hawkins, the son of Sarah Hawkins, who worked in the café as a waitress. He was leaning against the wall of his house, smoking a cigarette. He had barely noticed me until I walked up to his doorstep.

"Hello there Jim!" I greeted cheerfully. He looked toward me before inhaling.

"Hey." Was all he could say to me.

"You know, I would never have expected you to be the one of those people," I said as I put a paper into his mailbox, "I wonder what your mother would think…" I then thought out loud as I looked at him.

"What good would come to you telling her?" he asked.

"It will get you to stop the habit." I replied. There was a silence between us for a few seconds. I was just looked at him as he looked at me. Finally, he broke the quiescent moment by throwing the cigarette on the floor and smushing it with his shoe. I then grinned at him.

"Happy now?" he asked.

"Yes." I answered. I had to get along with my route so I flashed a smile a smile at him and left without saying another word. When I finished delivering the news to every single corner of the city, I started to make my way back to the newsstand. As I was walking, I read one of the left-over papers in my bag.

* * *

"_**Blackout**_

_The full machinery of Britain's civil defence has been set in motion today. Local authorities have been instructed to put the air-raid warning system into operation, and from now on the sounding of factory hooters and sirens is prohibited except in an air raid._

_An air raid warning is given by a series of short blasts on a siren, while the all-clear is given by a long steady blast lasting two minutes. A complete blackout over the whole country will be put into effect as from tonight - the blackout begins at sunset and continues through to sunrise next morning."_

* * *

_At least Britain's keeping taking precautions…_I thought to myself. I couldn't believe our city, let alone our _country, _wasn't doing anything. There was absolutely nothing in the news about Poland setting up any defenses for their own people. I couldn't believe this. I had almost read through all of the paper when I had gotten to the newsstand. I emptied out my bag, leaving only two papers for my father and I, and notified Kronk that I had finished.

"Oh hey there, Squirt. Here." Kronk paid me, wished me well, and I started heading home. But, I couldn't help but stop in the middle of the street to look at the market place. There was something about the area that attracted me. Maybe it was the colors, the smells, the sight of people gathering and interacting peacefully; it looked like the most welcoming place to be other than home. I got out of the street and continued to walk home. After just walking a few steps after I crossed the street, there was a loud _BOOM._

I fell onto the floor on my hands and knees and there was another one. I covered my ears as I tried to regain my footing. People were running for their lives out of the main street. I started to see thick, gray, smoke, rising in the air. There was screaming, crying, shouting; chaos. I was in shock for a moment, trying to figure out what just happened, but the ground was shaking so much, I couldn't keep my balance. Then, I saw them. German war planes were flying right above the city. This was it, it had started. There was another _BOOM _somewhere on the left side of Town Square and that's when I decided to run. I ran as fast as I could. My throat ached for more air as my feet raced over the hard ground. Halfway through the path, I felt my legs become frail, but I couldn't stop after hearing another explosion. Everything in my peripheral vision was just a blur to me as I zipped through the street. Finally, I had gotten to my house. _BOOM _I heard again. I ran to my father, who was on the floor, trying to get up.

"Father!" I cried as I aided him into our house's under-ground shelter. I turned on the light and pushed in him in first, but before I entered the shelter, I heard Rajah, still in the kitchen, hissing in fear. I ran up the shelter staircase and crawled to the kitchen on my hands and knees. "Rajah! Boy, come here!" I yelled over all the rumbling coming from the ground and the sound of items falling off the walls. Through a small parting between the curtains in the kitchen window, I could see shadows pass by, one after another. I couldn't make out exactly who they were, but telling by their silhouettes, they were soldiers. Rajah emerged from under the chair and ran into my arms. I quickly ran to the shelter, closed its doors, and hid in my father's arms while holding my cat. I heard all the _crashing_ and _thuds_ upstairs as dust was shaken off the walls and clouded in the air. It seemed like hours until the bombing was over. My father and I looked up and around the shelter before getting up to check the house. When we came out of the cellar, we were surprised by the sight. Most of the things that had fallen off the shelves were our plates and books, but other than that, not much was damaged. Rajah jumped out of my hands as soon as we were out. My father was picking up books and re-shelfing them. I grabbed the broom and swept up all the broken plate pieces. My father walked into the kitchen, clapping his hands together to get the dust off. I ran up to my room and saw a few of my things on the floor, but that was it. I looked on my vanity and saw the picture of my mother, still against the mirror.

I slightly opened my window and heard chaos out in the distance. After about twenty seconds or so, I couldn't listen anymore and shut it. I dropped my bag on the floor and sat at the foot of my bed. Rajah came up to my room and made himself comfortable by my side. Downstairs, I could hear Father locking up the doors and closing the windows. It wasn't long until I heard his footsteps walk up the stairs and towards my room.

"Dearest?" he asked. He walked over and sat with me. "Are you alright?" he asked. I turned my hands over to show my scratched-up palms from falling earlier. They stung, but this was the least of me problems.

That night, I tried my best to fall asleep. It was different during the night; everything was quiet inside. Nothing stopped the violent noises in town from creeping into the walls of the house. _The ballroom was filled with fashion's throng, It shone with a thousand lights, And there was a woman who passed along, The fairest of all the sights, A girl to her lover then softly sighed, There's riches at her command; But she married for wealth, not for love, he cried, Though she lives in a mansion grand …_I sang a verse of my Mother's favorite song in my head to calm myself down. All the sounds of guns, the tanks, and the rolling of vehicle wheels clouded the air. The sounds accompanied me as I fell into slumber.

The next morning was a Saturday. On weekends, I had no duties. It seemed as so that the Blitzkrieg had died down. I dressed up in my buttoned-down, Peter Pan-collared blouse and my high-waist skirt and went down the stairs to make breakfast. I opened the pantry to see what we had and decided on oatmeal, bacon, milk, a muffin, and coffee. I noticed that we were running low on bread and butter. By the time Father was up, I had just finished preparing our meal. We kept quiet while we ate. Until my father thought out loud to himself.

"I wonder where the dates have gone…" I simply stayed quiet at his statement. We had a plentiful amount of dried dates, since it was our family's favorite snack. Father used to put them in his oatmeal during the mornings. But they were only available to purchase during the winter, so our supply started getting low. I hid the last jar in my drawer, only pulling it out for special occasions. When I was done, I turned on the radio to listen for any possible announcements made by the government.

"Warsaw's station is out." I said.

"Try Britain's radio station, Daughter!" he suggested. I sat down and listened for the British station for a few seconds. First the most part, all I heard was static and interception by the German radio station. I was just about to turn the radio off until I heard the voice of the radio announcer.

"Britain and France have declared war on Nazi Germany. I repeat, Britain and France, have declared war, on Nazi Germany." He announced. I clapped my hands together and let my head fall upon my knees.

"Oh, praise Allah!" My father rejoiced. I thought for a second, then got up and ran towards the door. "Daughter! Where are you going?" Father asked while frantically putting on his spectacles.

"I'm going to check on Ariel." I replied as I put on my news hat.

"No, no, no! Stay insi-"he was about to say, but I had already closed the door. I saw smoke rising from areas all around the city. There were a few people either outside, or peeking out their door, looking up at the sky. I got to the main street and saw absolute destruction. The streets were cracked, one of the apartments has collapsed and bodies were being carried out and onto a horse-drawn cart. People were Somebody's house was on fire a few blocks away. The market place was completely ruined. The stands were toppled over and the produce was all over the road. I was absolutely shocked as the fear surged down my spine. The building next to it was blown up with the rubble all piled up. I looked to my newsstand on the corner of the block, and the papers were everywhere around the structure. The sight was saddening to me so I ran over and started picking up all the scattered paper.

"Hey, Squirt," I heard a voice say, "are you and your father alright?" I gasped.

"Kronk! Y-you were here the whole time? You should've found a safer place…" I stuttered.

"This little stand was pretty safe. I'm not really wounded." He explained. "Don't bother picking those up, I'll just sweep them off the street." He told me as I threw a pile of the papers into the trash.

"Jasmine!" I heard my best friend call out. Ariel ran straight to me and hugged me so tightly that I almost fell over.

"You're alright!" I yelped cheerfully.

"Yes, I'm alright, Father's alright, and Alana, Arista, and Andrina are fine." She squealed.

"That's very good." I smiled. Ariel and I walked through town, describing what we were doing at the time before the attack.

"And so I dropped my brush and ran under the bed!" she explained to me.

"I don't think the bed would be the safest place." I informed her.

"It was so horrible! My drawer fell over right in front of me, and when it was over I had to cry for help because I couldn't get out from under the bed! Jasmine, we're all going to die!" Ariel took me by the shoulders and shook me.

"We're not dying. We're going to get through this now that Britain and France are on our side." I gave her the news that I had heard on the radio and a wide smile grew on her face.

"That's wonderful! We're not alone!" Ariel cheered.

"Yes…" For now…I thought. We strolled back to the middle of town where people were still cleaning up. We walked by the destroyed apartment to see what damage was done. The place was a bit crowded, with townsfolk all pushing each other for a good view. The complexes around it had windows that were blown away and walls that were cracked or had holes in them. Unfortunately, the building had collapsed within itself. In the middle of the area was all the rubble and people who were trying to get the bodies out. I suddenly heard someone calling at us.

"Psst," it called. I looked around, but saw no one in sight. "Up here!" I looked up at the apartment that was a two structures away and across the street. It was the boy Eric Jonasen. Even _his _apartment complex had suffered some damage, mostly on the roof. His apartment was right next to Ariel's home. Eric was a childhood friend of ours. Ariel had a crush on him since we were eight. I tapped her on the shoulder and pointed up at him.

"Eric!" I called. He disappeared from his window and soon appeared at the doorstep a few moments later.

"Get in!" he whispered in an urgent manner. Ariel and I scurried into the apartment entrance as Eric looked around for anyone around us. When there was no one is sight, closed the door and kept his voice down. "Are you all alright?" he asked. Ariel couldn't speak when he was around; she was too nervous.

"We're fine." I responded.

"I can't believe it. You know, I've heard that they're coming to take away some of us." Eric said. I was a bit confused.

"'They'?" I asked.

"The Nazis! They're going to come here and kill all the people who aren't on their side!" Eric explained in a quiet but strict voice.

"That…isn't anything new." I raised an eyebrow as I crossed my arms.

"Yeah but this time, Hitler's got a plan. Pheobus told me about what his class is teaching them." Eric informed. Pheobus was Cinderella's twin brother and Aurora's older brother. I didn't know how I felt about all this information; I sure knew how Ariel felt. She was just staring at him dreamily while twirling her hair and biting her lip. We looked outside the small glass on the door and saw Polish soldiers all in formation, marching north. The three of us figured that they were headed for Warsaw to battle the Nazis.

"Should I be worried?" I asked assertively.

"Not unless you're a Jew, or against Hitler." Eric answered. I knew that it would come to this at some point.

"I'll see you later, Eric." I saluted and started heading home. Ariel stood, smiled at him awkwardly, and curtsied at him before following me.

"I could not get myself to talk to him!" Ariel hissed at herself to me.

"Ariel, I'm going to walk home now…There…there are things I have to think about." I told her. Ariel mugged a frown and gave me a hug before leaving.

"Goodbye Jasmine!" she called and waved as she took off. I walked home by myself through the empty streets.

The following Monday, it was time to get back to work. I went through my morning routine and headed down the stairs. Just before I could take another step to get off the stairs, Father whisked an umbrella right in front of my feet.

"You will _not _begoing out there!" he warned.

"But Father!" I complained. I couldn't believe that he would keep me from upholding my duty to the town and its people.

"No no! You will _not _be going out there every morning anymore, _not _with those soldiers out there!" he raged. I looked daggers at him and ran past him. "_Jasmine!_ Don't you _dare!_" he shouted. I didn't look back walking out of the house. The walk towards the center of town felt eerie. I felt like something could jump out at any moment and I'd be blown away to bits. I came to the newsstand, checked for my route, and gathered a ton of papers. Kronk was reading the paper to himself.

"_**Germany has begun its invasion of Poland. Warsaw and other major cities have been bombed." **_Was the headline.

"Try to get as much done as you can, Squirt. I don't recommend going too far now with…" he fell silent for a moment and watched military trucks go by and another number of troops march right by us. He then lowered his voice, "with danger around." I nodded and headed on my way. A few units away, I noticed that the bank had suffered a tremendous amount of damage. I simply couldn't believe it. I walked around all of town delivering the paper, forgetting about what Kronk said. When I came to the Hawkin's residence, I found Jim, sitting against his fence. I stopped and stood over him as he pretended not to notice me.

"Jim!" I called. I noticed in the corner of my left eye, there was a Nazi truck, driving away towards East. Immediately, I felt a surge of fear run down my spine. He slowly turned his head to look my way. "I need a favor of you." I announced. He stood up and ambled toward me.

"What might that favor be?" he asked. I put five newspapers in his hands.

"Would you give this to your neighbors out there in the field? I was told…th-that…that...I shouldn't be here. Or that I _shouldn't_ gone out of town this far." I tried to explain. He stepped closer to me to say something but I ran before he could do so. I got to the newsstand, got my pay, and started heading home. I saw Aurora, walking home from running errands at the partially recovered market.

"Aurora!" I called. She looked to me and waved. I ran to catch her before she left.

"Hello Jasmine," She greeted me, "I hope you and your father are alright after…the _other day._" She told me.

"Yes, we're fine." I replied. "Wednesday is Cinderella's party? Yes?" I asked for confirmation.

"Yes, that's exactly why I'm running this errand," she explained, "Mother is going to make a cake for her, so I needed butter and bread." I had just then recalled that I the other day I saw that we needed more bread and butter.

"Thank you for saying that! I had just remembered…I should stock up on butter…" I thought out loud. Aurora looked at me if I said something odd.

"You can only get butter for one red point a week." She told me.

"What?" I asked in complete confusion.

"Didn't you hear?" she asked. I shook my head and she motioned me to follow her back to the market place. We walked through the shops and the crowds of people to the sweet shop that was next to the bar. The door was open so we could see the man at the counter, who had piles and piles of small pocket books stacked upon one another. "Ask for you and your father's ration books. Then, meet me out here and I'll explain it all to you." She instructed me. I walked up and spoke to the man.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Name?" he asked.

"Jasmine Arij, daughter of Hamed Arij." I responded confidently.

"Date of birth?" he asked.

"September twenty-third, nineteen twenty-three." I answered.

"Address?" he asked. I gave him my address and he started looking through the books.

"Here is your ration book," he handed to me the small, blue, pocket book, "Since you are between the ages five and sixteen you hold the children's rations. When you turn sixteen, you must come and replace it. Once you use a point, you are not allowed to buy any more from a certain until the following week." He informed as he stamped my father's book. "Here." After he was done stamping, he handed the buff-colored book to me.

"Dziękuję. Good day, sir." I bowed my head and left to meet Aurora outside. She was leaning against the wall, waiting for me to exit.

"You got them?" she asked.

"Yes." I took the two ration books out of my mail bag and showed her.

"Good. I suppose he already told you about the age differences in both books?" she asked, and I nodded. "Sixteen points are available in your ration book for every week. These points limit how much you buy, they're not used as money. You can only get two ounces of butter, cheese, and tea. Although, your book doesn't qualify for tea yet. Your father must buy that for you. You get four ounces of margarine and bacon or ham, eight ounces of sugar, one fresh eggs for adults but three for children, one pound of jam, a packet of dried eggs, up to one shilling and sixpence of meat, three pints of milk, and twelve ounces of sweets." She explained.

"This is all for a week?" I asked in disbelief.

"Afraid so." She sincerely replied and nodded sadly. "But, fruits, vegetables, bread, breakfast cereals, tinned meat, coffee, condensed milk, fish, potatoes, and poultry are _not _rationed." She added.

"I see. And how do these…_points_, work?" I asked, opening up the book and seeing sixteen total coins that had 'OPA Blue Point 1' or 'OPA Red Point 1' with two random letters imprinted on each of them.

"Blue is for canned goods or processed foods, and red is for the meat, butter, and the rest." She answered. _Now what we eat is being limited…_I thought. We went to the market place together and she showed me how to buy food with the rations. I used a point on butter and bought a good supply of bread and potatoes. They gave me a stamp that indicated that I had bought butter from the stand. "They're actually encouraging us to grow our own food at our homes." She informed. _Interesting…_I thought.

"Alright, thank you, Aurora for your help. I must be going." We smiled, hugged, and then parted ways. I got home to an angry father sitting at the sofa.

"Young lady, if you eve-"he started to scold, but I stopped him to show him what I had obtained today.

"Father! They're rationing out food, gas, clothes, almost everything!" I announced. I pulled out the books to show him what I meant. He adjusted his spectaculars to study the specimen more carefully.

"How peculiar…" he said to himself. "And this is for every_ week_?" he asked. I nodded.

"I get a different set of rations until my birthday this year." I informed. My father read over the book a few times and examined the little red and blue coins. That evening, we were able to eat a nice dinner of stewed tomatoes.

"Jasmine, I…" Father said during dinner, "I don't think it's safe for you to go around all of town…" his voice was sincere, and I could feel the fear he had for me, his only daughter.

"I know you're worried, but, Father, I could take care of myself out there. We're living off tips from the government, my job helps us. I…it's best for you and me that I'm working." I tried to explain nicely. Father kept quiet for a few moments and went back to eating his soup. I stared for about three seconds and looked back down at my food.

"What do you want for your birthday this year?" he asked. I looked up and saw him anxiously awaiting my answer.

"I…I want a cycle." I said.

"A _bicycle_? Whatever for?" he asked.

"…My deliveries will go faster that way…" I responded. Father sighed.

"Must everything be about the newspaper?" he asked sadly.

"Well…I _am _the paper-girl…" was my answer.

* * *

**So I actually have 4 chapters done but I'm only uploading 2 for now. Read on, and your imagination will stay strong!**


	3. Chapter 3

Wednesday, I felt very excited throughout the day for tonight. The Tremaine Family's parties were always so extravagant; a wonderful sight to see. After my deliveries, I decided that I'd talk to Kronk a bit to allow the time to go by.

"My father's been saying I should quit." I started off as I leaned with my elbow on the countertop of the booth.

"Maybe you should." He said, as he was organizing papers.

"What?" I asked, feeling offended.

"Times now are making your job more dangerous than it seems," he finished stacking the papers and turned to me, "You're out there all alone, walking everywhere. What are you going to do if you're caught on the outskirts of town? You'll leave your father waiting for you at an empty dinner table all night, only to find out you've been taken away." He explained to me. I thought about it; I was selfish.

"But…we won't be able to live! There's food on the table _because _I'm doing this. You remember, ever since the few days I came here, I distributed the news. Sure, I just stood at that corner for the first two years, but I earned a living!" I felt getting a little angry. "I have to go." I said before walking away. Kronk sighed. _Poor kid…_he thought to himself, and put some money into a drawer.

I remembered that I had to get a gift for Cinderella at the sweet shop, so I stopped by. I didn't have much money one me except for a few złotys and about nine groszy. As I opened the door, the bell that indicated that there was a customer chimed. I browsed the shelves for a gift that didn't seem "cheap," but I could only afford so little at the time. I browsed the sweet section and saw all types of candies and treats. I knew Cinderella's favorite, "Snickers" candy bars from Britain. I picked one from the shelf reading the price: "60 groszy." Before I could walk to the counter, I noticed a new item in the corner of my eye. It read: "KitKat Chocolate Crisp: 15 groszy." _Must be from America…_I thought. I couldn't help myself but try it. I grabbed one and paid for both of them. I knew it wasn't smart to buy something I didn't need, but I give easily into temptation.

"Dziękuję." I thanked the cashier and exited the store.

I decided to drop by Ariel's home to talk to her about Cinderella's party. I turned the corner of the street three blocks away and walked up to the house's steps. I knocked on the door and waited until I head the clicks of the door lock, unlocking. Ariel had opened the door and beamed at the sight of me.

"Jasmine!" she threw her arms over to give a big hug. "Come in!" she excitedly invited me into her home. I sat in the living room as she fetched some tea for the both of us. "Are you going to the party tonight?" she asked as pouring out hot tea into each of our cups.

"Yes." I answered, and took a sip.

"What will you be wearing?" she asked. Her puppy-dog eyes waited for me to respond as I almost choked on my tea. I hadn't really thought about that until now.

"I'll wear my dress..." I didn't decide on a full outfit yet.

"Oo, I'll be wearing my green dress coat, with the swing dance shoes...Oh! And my pearl necklace…" I knew Ariel could go on and on about her quirky fashion. Ever since we were little girls, this is how she was like. This was why she was my best friend, even if our personalities were complete opposite. Ariel steered the conversation her way for the most part, and I didn't mind. I took out my pocket watch read: 4:30 in the afternoon.

"I must be going to get ready then." I got up and excused myself.

"Alright, I shall see you tonight! I bet you'd look wonderful!" she ensured me as she walked with me to the door to open it. It made me feel better to hear that. I walked home to find Father, reading another one of his collection of Political or Geography books.

"Father, tonight is Cinderella's birthday celebration. It's being hosted at the dance hall." I notified. Father finished the page he was reading before looking up at me.

"When will you be back home?" he asked.

"I shall stay until nine o'clock at the most." I answered promptly.

"Before nine." My father looked at me sternly.

"Eight thirty." I compromised.

"Alright." He agreed and went back to his book. I hurried up the stairs into my room. I went into the bathroom to prepare for a bath. I cleaned myself of up and came out wearing only my under garments. I opened up both doors of my wardrobe and stood there, looking at my dress. It was a navy blue short-sleeved dress, with white polka dots and buttons, and a white Chelsea-styled collar. I wore the dress looked at myself over in the mirror. I never really wore anything like this. I got used to my shirt and pants after wearing them every day. I sat at my vanity, did my hair, put on my makeup, spritz perfume, and put on my earrings. The matching accessory that went with my earrings, I rarely took out. I reached for my wooden jewelry box and opened it slowly. The golden necklace that my mother had given me along with my earrings shined brightly into my eyes. I cautiously picked it up with my two hands and clipped it around my neck. I stared at myself in the mirror, and then looked down at my mother's picture. We looked very similar, though she looked more of a refined woman. My door creaked open and Rajah strolled in. He circled around me and rubbed against my shins. I looked at the time: 5:37 in the evening. I got up from my chair, wrapped a ribbon around the Snickers bar that I was bringing, and gave my regards to Father.

"Have a good time, Dearest!" he called from his room.

"Thank you, Father!" I called back as I put on the blue-leather oxford heels. It was just getting dark and I was walking alone, but I wasn't afraid. It took me ten minutes to walk to Town Square. I could already see and hear the dance hall, its lights shining and the voices of people and music, ringed through the air. I crossed the empty street over from darkness to the light and entered the building. "Happy Days Are Here Again" by Milton Ager and Jack Yellen, along with the tapping of people's dancing feet was being heard from across the room. There was catering on my far left and tables for guests on the right.

"You made it!" I heard the birthday-girl cheer. Cinderella came running up to hug me while I just stood there, looking the place over. She was wearing a short-sleeved white dress with pink flowers all over it, and a ribbon tying it at her waist. What topped off her whole outfit was her red leather shoes and Italian-silk gloves. We hugged, then I held out what I had gotten her in my hand. "Oh, how sweet of you! I shall put it with my other gifts." She squeaked. She accepted my gift and walked over to the table full of presents stacked upon it. Soon, she came back with Aurora and Ariel.

"Oo, Jasmine you look beautiful!" Aurora complimented. Aurora was wearing a dress similar to Cinderella's, but simpler and all pink. Ariel had just worn what she told me she'd wear earlier that day.

"Thank you." I felt flattered. We all walked to the table of food and eat all the sweet fruits that we liked. I preferred raspberries, but Ariel was piling her plate with strawberries. When we finished choosing our plate, we all laughed at the amount each of us had gotten. There were plenty of dishes like mashed potatoes, and desserts like vanilla ice cream. I walked to the table to help myself to some, and I saw Mrs. Hawkins, arranging the food.

"Hello Mrs. Hawkins." I greeted. Mrs. Hawkins brushed a strand of hair away from her face and smiled at me.

"Hello Jasmine," She replied, "How are you darling?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Is Jim here?" I asked. Mrs. Hawkins sighed.

"Jim is at home. I caught him smoking a cigarette." She answered. _I told him she'd find out sooner or later…_I thought.

"Oh…how horrible," I commented, "Alright." I served myself some ice cream quietly as she got back to the food herself. "Goodnight then Mrs. Hawkins." I smiled and nodded. She smiled back and waved at me before I walked back to our table. Cinderella was talking to Ariel while Aurora sat by herself. I smiled a sad smile and took my place next to her. "Everything alright?" I asked as I ate a spoon of ice cream.

"Mother and Father would never allow me to have a party like this." Aurora replied softly. Aurora was the daughter of the Tremaine family that was usually left out of all the privileges given to their other two children, Cinderella and Pheobus. "I don't know what I've done to make them love me less." She sighed.

"Don't say that." I put a hand on her shoulder. Bruno came trampling towards our table and jumped at Cinderella.

"I'd like a pet…" Aurora thought out loud and it actually made her smile.

"Pets _are _nice…" I thought about how Aurora wouldn't be lonely or left out if she had her own special friend that would just be for her.

"Hello ladies." Pheobus had approached our table, smiling broadly at us.

"Good evening, Pheobus." I greeted. He pulled up a chair and sat the end of the table, in-between Ariel and Cinderella.

"I see you're having fun." Cinderella joked. Pheobus didn't really do much at parties but stand and walk around. "Have you asked anyone to dance with you yet?" she asked him.

"Dance? No. Never." He stated.

"Thought you'd say that. You wouldn't dance even if it was one of Hitler's orders." The four of us laughed. Pheobus never liked to dance, so we'd always joke about it when he was around.

"Where's Belle?" I asked. Cinderella seemed to ignore my question.

"So, do _you _girls want to dance?" She asked us. Ariel got up and tied her shoes and Aurora took off her coat so she could move freely. The three of them went to dance while I sat at the table with Pheobus. I wasn't much of a dancer myself.

"What are you learning in school?" I asked to break the awkward silence between us.

"That's confidential to you, and anyone else who isn't in our family." He responded surely.

"Is it true that they're taking everybody?" I asked, letting him know that I knew what was going on.

"Who told you-"he was about to ask.

"_Answer me_." I ordered.

"Not everyone." He answered while looking away from me.

"How can you be a part of such things?" I asked, very confused.

"Jasmine, I was raised this way. I can't turn on my family, let alone my country. I'm simply doing the world a favor." He answered. _Poor Pheobus…_I thought. He was blinded by hate, pride, and the fear of failure. I wouldn't dare say anything else; it would get me in trouble.

"It's your birthday too." I said, as I slid the Kit Kat bar that I had bought for myself today across the table. The rest of the night was pleasant, but it the things I were told, things I noticed, still stuck to the back of my mind. By 8:00, I decided it was time to go home. I gave my regards to the Tremaine family before leaving.

"Goodbye dear, thank you so much for coming." Mrs. Tremaine told me. I curtsied.

"Thank you, Jasmine!" Cinderella gave me quite a tight hug before I left.

"Uh…You're welcome." I nodded and smiled briefly. The family waved me goodbye as I walked away into the daunting darkness. I headed home for the night and got there at just about 8:23. Father was on the sofa, reading another book. I look to the arm of the sofa, where a stack of four encyclopedia-sized novels were stacked. I felt sorry for Father, he could never sleep if I wasn't at home with home, safe. That's what Kronk was telling me about in the morning.

"Oh, dearest, did you have a good time?" he asked.

"Yes, I did Father." I smiled brightly.

"Oh, delightful to hear." He got up, and returned all the books he had read to their rightful place in the shelf. He gave me a kiss goodnight on my cheek and went up to my room. After changing into my pajamas, I got into bed for, what I was hoping, a good amount of slumber before work tomorrow.

That Friday, I had to tell Jim about the party. Halfway towards his house, I saw a terrifying sight. Dead bodies were strewn on the sides of the plants. Something inside me regretting coming here…I tried my best not to look at them as I walked by. Jim's house looked empty right from the outside. I ran up to the fence to open it, but it was locked. I climbed over and walked towards the house. Peering through the window, there was no light coming from inside, indicating that no one was home. I sighed, some papers at the door, and left. I then decided to visit Belle, and why she wasn't at the party. I arrived at Desjardins' manor and knocked. After about a minute or so, Belle quickly opened the door and brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"Jasmine." She panted and smiled.

"Belle," I said in surprise, "You…you weren't at the party last night." I told her.

"Do you really want to know why?" she asked, seeming irritated.

"If it doesn't bother you…" I shrugged.

"Come in." she stood out of the way for me to walk in. I slowly stepped in and followed her to the living room, where belligerent voices were heard quarrelling with each other. I put one arm above my head when leaning against the side of the doorway. Belle lived with her father, little sister Clarice, aunts: Marguerite, Fifi, and Angela, little cousin Chip, and her two uncles: Lumiere and Cogsworth.

"We must leave now!" her aunt shouted in the living room.

"Marguerite, we are not leaving!" Belle's father argued back.

"She's right! It's not too long before this city is raided and we all die. We should've moved back to France last month!" her uncle, Cogsworth, agreed with his wife, Marguerite.

"Come now, don't talk like that!" Aunt Angela was tending to the children, Clarice and Chip. Her aunt, Fifi, was sitting on the couch with her Uncle, Lumiere, trying to calm her down.

"Neither side can't decide when to leave or not." Belle whispered to me. Her dog, Lady, ran from the other room towards me and started getting excited.

"H-hi, Lady!" I giggled. The dog was pouncing up on me and giving wet-nosed kisses.

"Psst, Lady, down!" Belle harshly whispered to her pet to stop. Lady eventually sat still, but still panted patiently. The Desjardins family had noticed I was there by now.

"Why hello, Jasmine!" Belle's father called.

"Good morning!" I responded as I recalled why I was there. I took out two papers out of my bag and handed one to Belle and her uncle, Lumiere. The adults huddled around to read the paper, then started arguing again. I put a hand on Belle's shoulder and told her that it would probably be the right time for me to leave.

After my deliveries, I had stopped by the bar, where Mr. Radcliffe played piano during the afternoon. The smell of cigars and alcohol surrounded the room. There were old men talking, playing cards, tossing coins, whatever they could do to amuse themselves. What attracted me the most, was the beautiful music. I walked to the piano where Mr. Radcliffe was playing.

"Hello, Roger." I greeted. He kept playing but he noticed me.

"Why hello, Jasmine." He replied.

"I just dropped by to say hi. I feel the need to check on all my clients during these times." I explained.

"Well, me and Anita are doing fine so far." He told me as he turned the page of his sheet music.

"That's swell." I rested my head and arms on the piano. We had a piano at home, right in the corner of our living room. But, no one knew how to play. It was given to my mother as a gift...I quickly shook the subject from my thoughts. "How's Anita and…do you even have for the baby yet?" I asked.

"Well, if it _is _a girl, we're thinking of naming it…_Edith._" He answered.

"And a boy?" I asked anxiously.

"Rupert. I personally chose that one." he laughed after saying. I laughed along, such a happy family they were. _What a lucky baby too_…I thought. The little child would get to wake up every morning to beautiful music like this.

"Give my regards to Anita for me." I reminded before leaving.

"I will. Goodbye!" he called as the sounds of the piano followed me to the door. The sun was reaching the highest it could in the sky; a sign that meant it was time to go home. I walked along the street that lead to my house, whistling a certain song, until I got there. Father had left a note behind the front door that he had gone out to buy food. _Alright…_I thought, since Father didn't usually go out much, not as much as he used to. I decided I'd read a book, putting Father's collection of literature to good use. Father always kept his books organized, the top three shelves would be novels, fourth shelf would be encyclopedias, atlases, maps, and science books, and the last shelf would be a collection of dictionaries and thesauruses. I looked upon the shelf of fiction and decided on the novel by J.M. Barrie, _Peter Pan_. I remember Father reading this to me for the first time when I was little, then I tried reading it for myself at around first grade. It fit reading it that night, since I needed an escape.

I had gotten ready for bed and set myself up to read. I don't know how buying a week's rations could take so long. I had gotten to page sixty-seven when I heard someone enter the house. The humming of a cheerful song indicated that it was Father. I turned off my lamp and shut my eyes only halfway upon hearing footsteps climbing the stairs. The door creaked open and Father peered into my room to check on me. He had seen that I seemed asleep, so he smiled warmly and closed the door quietly. I waited until I heard him walk to turn on my light and continue reading. I _had _to finish this chapter before I could sleep contently.

"…_Tootles excitedly fitted the arrow to his bow. Out of the way, Tink,' he shouted; and then he fired, and Wendy fluttered to the ground with an arrow in her breast…"_

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**Okay so...chapter 3! So...pretty embarrassing little mistake that I _just _noticed (goodness I can't believe I was that oblivious) the title of the story said "The Paper-Girl chapter 1." Ugh. Stupidity. Anyways, I'm currently working on chapter 5 right and I'm still working on my Disney High School story so...busy busy busy! I'll see you all later. Read on and your imagination will stay strong!**


	4. Chapter 4

Time had gone by until the day of my birthday. It was a Saturday, but he day before, Kronk had asked me to show up. Even if it was my special day, if I had to do it, I guess I would. I arrived at the newsstand at my usual time, 6:25 in the morning, but Kronk wasn't there. There was a note on a stack of newspapers that read: "_Couldn't stay today, deliver these papers today, and at the end of the day, go straight home. Don't forget to paste papers on all the news posts. I shall give you your wage soon." Is this a warning?..._was my first thought. I didn't know what to think of it. It _did _sound pretty urgent though. But, I had to do what I was instructed. I collected the stack of papers, which seemed more than usual, and stuffed what I could in my mailbag. _He really had to be gone on a day like this…_I commented in my head, irritated. Days when I had extra papers were days that not only I had to go to every single house, but I had to give numerous papers to stores and such, like on holidays; Days like this would take me all the way until dark to complete my tasks. I carried on though, there wasn't _any _reason to quit. After all, it was my eighth year doing this; should be used to it by now.

The houses of my friends' were in order, Ariel's, Eric's, Cinderella and Aurora's, Belle's, and Jim's. I slipped a newspaper into all of their mail slots, not getting one answer from each door. This was all odd to me. The houses seemed like they were abandoned. Either that I was being ignored, or something bad had happened to all of them. But that couldn't be! I went through all the houses, now I had to deliver papers to all the public facilities. I left papers at the grocery shop, the library, the café, and last was the bar. Maybe Roger knew why everyone was gone…But when I stepped into the building, there was absolutely no piano music. It was silence except for the ring of a tossed coin and the taps of dice hitting the tables' surfaces. The town wasn't _empty, _but everyone that I knew wasn't in sight.

Next I had to take all the leftover papers and post them on news postings on whatever corner of a street had one. I unlocked the door of the small newsstand and got myself the glue roller and filled a bucket with new wet glue. As I began carrying these items and started walking away, I had almost dropped them due to their weight. I carried the glue roller upon my right shoulder and the bucket of glue in my left hand. I came to the first news post and ripped the older headline that was posted upon it. I dipped the glue roller into the bucket and started evenly covering the surface of the post with the wet glue. Once there was a good layer evenly spread, I took the paper and pasted it right on the area where I had glued. I had repeated this several times until darkness fell upon the sky.

I was really anxious to get home by the end of the day. _What a nice day to spend a sixteenth birthday…_I thought to myself and sighed as I cleaned up the newsstand. At least the night was cold, which helped me since I was sweating from all the labor I had done. At last, it was time to go home. I was in quite a hurry to get home, hoping I'd get some rest. When I finally approached my house, I took out my keys and opened the door.

"I'm home!" I called. "Father?" There wasn't any response and all the lights were off.

"Surprise!" Next thing I knew, the lights flashed on and all my friends were in my house, wishing me a happy birthday.

"Happy Birthday, Dearest." Father had walked up to me from the kitchen and hugged me.

"Oh Father!" I couldn't have thought of a better birthday celebration. After we let go from the daughter-father embrace, Ariel and Aurora ran up to hug me.

"Happy Birthday Jasmine!" they squealed. I thought this was just precious. Not many people were there, but they were all people I loved. Kronk, Roger and Anita (and their future baby), Aurora, Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Eric, and Jim and his mother were all present. There wasn't any decoration or anything special, it was only my birthday after all. Mrs. Hawkins came out from the kitchen with a cake and sixteen candles on them. She held them in front of me to blow out. After I did, we were to cut the cake. All the adults sat in the kitchen, just talking, while us teens were in the living room.

"We waited all day!" Ariel squealed.

"Ariel spent most of her time hiding because she didn't know when you'd turn up. She thought you would enter the house at any time." Cinderella giggled.

"Oh Ariel, I told you she'd be home at seven o'clock." Aurora put a palm to her forehead. I just laughed lightly, yup, these were my friends alright. I let myself rest against the couch but something had poked me from inside my bag. I remembered I still had a paper in there for myself. As my friends talked, I took out the paper and started to read. I noticed the headline right away.

"_**Heydrich orders ghettos established in occupied Poland under Judenräte**_"

_What…_I thought. I read on, trying to find a reason in all of these words.

"What are you reading there, Jasmine?" Belle asked and leaned over to see. I quickly put it away, I _had _to hide it from her.

"Nothing. _Yesterday's _paper." I lied.

"Alright, anyone want to hear a song?" Roger walked in from the kitchen, leaving the other four adults to talk amongst themselves.

"Oh, please do Mr. Radcliffe!" Aurora sat anxiously in her seat. Roger signaled for me to sit next to him on the piano so I swallowed and did just that. I sat on his left, where the lower keys of the piano were. He set a thin booklet on the piano, which was the sheet music.

"Just play this." Roger gave me a melody that apparently just continued throughout the whole song. We started playing at a slow pace until I got the hang of it. _C C E E, a a C C, f f a a, g g, b b…_I repeated over and over in my head so I'd get it right. Roger played the other part of the song that sounded absolutely beautiful and pleasant to the ears, but it sounded too fast for _me _to play. I couldn't believe it, I was playing piano! Well, sort of. "Heart and soul, I fell in love with you, Heart and soul, the way a fool would do, madly, Because you held me tight, And stole a kiss in the night…" he sang out loud. "This is Anita's favorite song." He whispered to me. I smiled, _How cute…_I thought. Sure enough, Anita couldn't stay away from the music and entered the living room with a glass of water in both of her hands.

"Oh, Roger!" she sighed.

"Sing darling!" Roger exclaimed. Anita took a sip of her water and sang along. "Heart and soul, I begged to be adored, lost control, and tumbled overboard, gladly, that magic night we kissed, there in the moon mist…" Ariel got up suddenly and rushed next to us. The couple sang so beautifully to each other. "Oh! But your lips were thrilling, much too thrilling, Never before were mine so strangely willing…" they harmonized so perfectly.

"I know this song!" Ariel exclaimed. It was a _great _tune. I couldn't help myself, and so I echoed Roger and Anita's words to sing along, the three of us sang out. I kept playing as I looked behind my shoulder, Ariel and Eric were both sitting next to each other, but Ariel was talking to Aurora and Eric was talking to Jim. "Psst." I whispered to Eric, who noticed me. I looked over to Ariel, signaling him to dance with her. Eric seemed to get nervous, but Jim had gotten my message and pushed Eric in Ariel. The two just awkwardly stared at each other until Eric took her by the hand and started twirling her around the floor. Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella clapped along to the music, smiling. When we were done, we all complimented each other.

"Wonderful!" Father was in the doorway, clapping.

"Time for the picture!" Kronk announced and came out with a folding camera. I was about to cry, what a happy way to spend my birthday. The work that I had done all day was absolutely worth it for this one night. "Gather round, I've got a camera." Kronk called for everyone to sit on the couch. The seven of us teens sat on the couch together in a sort of friendship huddle. Anita sat down at the far right next to Belle, and Roger stood up next to her with his hands on top her shoulders. Mrs. Hawkins and my father stood on the far left of us, with Mrs. Hawkins hugging her son. Kronk started counting to three before taking the picture, then I had an idea.

"Oh, wait!" I stood up abruptly and ran up to my room, leaving everyone downstairs, confused. I hurried over to my vanity and grabbed the framed picture of my mother. I quickly shuffled down the stairs and took my place, smiling but panting form the running. Everyone smiled and waited for the countdown. I had Ariel help me hold up the small portrait with her holding one side and me holding the other. At the count of three, Kronk pressed the button and quickly took his place by Roger. Just before the camera flashed, Rajah had jumped into my lap, making it just in time for the photo.

I looked at the clock and it read: 8:00. It was curfew, which meant everyone had to get going. Jim and Mrs. Hawkins both wished me a happy birthday and left.

"Nice playing." Jim complimented before walking out the door. Belle followed after, giving me my present. It was something rectangular wrapped in brown paper with a ribbon around it. I thanked her as she left. Cinderella and Aurora both wished me a good night and told me they had left their gifts on the kitchen table. Roger and Anita did the same and thanked me for playing along with the music.

"Have a good night!" I called out to them. Kronk lifted the hat off my head and ruffled my hair.

"Hey." I laughed.

"I don't have a present for you right now kid, sorry. But someday I'll make it up to you." He told me. I shrugged.

"It's alright." He nodded and then left as well. The last to leave were Eric and Ariel. I gave them both hugs, thanking them for coming, and waved them goodbye as the lead each other, running and laughing through the street.

I watched all my friends go from the doorway while holding Belle's gift. _May God be with them all…_I thought to myself. I closed the door and walked inside to the kitchen why opening Belle's present. It was the book entitled: "_1001 Arabian Nights._" I had always heard of this one.

"I had a copy of that, it got lost on the move here." Father commented.

"Oh, thank you Father. For the celebration today." I smiled.

"You're very welcome Jasmine." He bowed his head to me. "I took all day arranging it yesterday with them." My father was always quirky, childish, and eccentric than any other old man. But I always wonder if he forced himself to act like this because of Mother. _Someone _had to keep our spirits up, it was never me though. On the table were my other presents. Cinderella and Aurora's were two bars of the Kit Kat candy, which I hadn't tried yet. Jim and his mother's were five złotys, Eric's was a rubber ball, and Ariel's was a journal decorated with shells, and a pencil. Father was cleaning up as I started walking upstairs with all my gifts in hand. I noticed the music sheet was still on the piano and I feared that Roger may have forgotten it. Curiously, I flipped through the book and at the very last page, "_Happy Birthday! From, Roger, Anita Radcliffe, and baby" _was scribbled on the bottom right corner. I smiled; how sweet of them. I decided to call it a night and go to sleep, but not before I begin the book that Belle had given me_._

* * *

**_Mmk_ so I'm back from Yosemite. Here's chapter 4 guys! Read on and your imagination will stay strong!**


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